Vendre is the verb to sell. It is also the textbook model verb for the regular -re family: master its paradigms and you immediately have rendre (give back), perdre (lose), attendre (wait for), entendre (hear), répondre (answer), défendre (defend / forbid), descendre (go down), and several dozen others. They all conjugate identically. So while vendre is officially in the 3e groupe (irregular -ir/-re), the -dre subset is the most predictable corner of that group.
This page is the verb-reference entry. It gives every paradigm in every tense, the major uses with examples, and the constructions you will meet daily — vendre quelque chose à quelqu'un, se vendre bien, vendre cher, à vendre on a sign in a window.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary. Across all of them vendre keeps the stem vend- — there are no stem changes anywhere in the paradigm.
Présent de l'indicatif
The signature pattern of regular -dre verbs: in the singular, the verb is the bare stem with no inflectional ending in writing for the third-person form (the -d is the stem-final consonant, doing double duty). In the plural, the regular -ons / -ez / -ent endings appear.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | vends | /vɑ̃/ |
| tu | vends | /vɑ̃/ |
| il / elle / on | vend | /vɑ̃/ |
| nous | vendons | /vɑ̃.dɔ̃/ |
| vous | vendez | /vɑ̃.de/ |
| ils / elles | vendent | /vɑ̃d/ |
The three singular forms are perfectly homophonous (/vɑ̃/) — the final -s and -d are silent. The /d/ is restored as soon as a vowel-initial ending follows it, which is why vendons, vendez, vendent all sound the consonant.
Je vends ma vieille voiture la semaine prochaine, ça t'intéresse ?
I'm selling my old car next week, are you interested?
Ils vendent leurs croissants à un euro vingt.
They sell their croissants for one euro twenty.
On vend de tout dans ce magasin, du fromage aux chaussettes.
They sell everything in that shop, from cheese to socks.
Imparfait
Built on the vend- stem with the regular imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vendais |
| tu | vendais |
| il / elle / on | vendait |
| nous | vendions |
| vous | vendiez |
| ils / elles | vendaient |
Mon grand-père vendait des fruits au marché tous les samedis.
My grandfather used to sell fruit at the market every Saturday.
À l'époque, on vendait encore les journaux dans la rue.
Back then, they still sold newspapers in the street.
Passé simple (literary)
Regular -is pattern. Note the circumflex on nous vendîmes and vous vendîtes — required in literary French.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vendis |
| tu | vendis |
| il / elle / on | vendit |
| nous | vendîmes |
| vous | vendîtes |
| ils / elles | vendirent |
Il vendit sa maison de famille à contrecœur.
He sold his family home reluctantly. (literary)
Futur simple
Note the small but important orthographic detail: the futur stem is built by removing the final -e of the infinitive, giving vendr-. This is the rule for all -re verbs and applies cleanly here.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vendrai |
| tu | vendras |
| il / elle / on | vendra |
| nous | vendrons |
| vous | vendrez |
| ils / elles | vendront |
On vendra l'appartement quand les taux baisseront.
We'll sell the apartment when interest rates come down.
Je te vendrai ma guitare pour cinquante euros si tu veux.
I'll sell you my guitar for fifty euros if you want.
Conditionnel présent
Same vendr- stem as the futur, with imparfait endings. This is the standard construction for polite or hypothetical "would sell" statements.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vendrais |
| tu | vendrais |
| il / elle / on | vendrait |
| nous | vendrions |
| vous | vendriez |
| ils / elles | vendraient |
À ce prix-là, je le vendrais tout de suite.
At that price, I'd sell it right away.
Vous me le vendriez combien, ce vélo ?
How much would you sell me this bike for?
Subjonctif présent
Built on the same vend- stem as the indicative plural, with the standard -e / -es / -e / -ions / -iez / -ent endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | vende |
| (que) tu | vendes |
| (qu')il / elle / on | vende |
| (que) nous | vendions |
| (que) vous | vendiez |
| (qu')ils / elles | vendent |
The nous / vous subjunctive forms are identical to the imparfait — context distinguishes them.
Il faut absolument que je vende cette voiture avant la fin du mois.
I absolutely have to sell this car before the end of the month.
Je préfère qu'on vende l'entreprise plutôt que de la fermer.
I'd rather we sell the company than close it down.
Impératif
Three forms, drawn directly from the indicative — note that for -re verbs the tu imperative does not drop the -s (unlike -er verbs).
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | vends |
| (nous) | vendons |
| (vous) | vendez |
Vends-le tant que tu peux encore en tirer un bon prix.
Sell it while you can still get a good price for it.
Ne vendez jamais une action après une mauvaise nouvelle.
Never sell a stock right after bad news.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: vendu (agreement: vendu / vendue / vendus / vendues — agrees with a preceding direct object since the auxiliary is avoir)
- Participe présent: vendant
- Gérondif: en vendant
En vendant un peu chaque jour, il a fini par tout écouler.
By selling a little each day, he eventually moved everything.
La maison vendue, on a pu déménager tranquillement.
With the house sold, we were able to move out without stress.
The compound tenses
Vendre takes avoir as its auxiliary — like all standard transitive verbs. The past participle vendu agrees only with a preceding direct object (the standard avoir rule).
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + vendu
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| j' | ai vendu |
| tu | as vendu |
| il / elle / on | a vendu |
| nous | avons vendu |
| vous | avez vendu |
| ils / elles | ont vendu |
J'ai vendu mon vélo à un copain pour soixante euros.
I sold my bike to a friend for sixty euros.
Ils ont vendu leur appart en moins de trois semaines.
They sold their flat in less than three weeks.
When the direct object precedes the verb, agreement kicks in:
La voiture que j'ai vendue était presque neuve.
The car I sold was almost new.
Combien de billets est-ce qu'ils ont vendus hier soir ?
How many tickets did they sell last night?
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + vendu
Quand je suis arrivée, ils avaient déjà tout vendu.
By the time I arrived, they had already sold everything.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + vendu
Avant la fin de l'année, on aura vendu plus de mille exemplaires.
Before the year is out, we'll have sold over a thousand copies.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + vendu
Sans cette crise, j'aurais vendu mon studio l'an dernier.
Without this crisis, I would have sold my studio last year.
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif) + vendu
Je suis surpris que tu aies vendu ton piano.
I'm surprised you sold your piano.
The core uses
1. Vendre quelque chose — to sell something
The base transitive use. The thing sold is the direct object, no preposition required.
On vend des billets à l'entrée.
They sell tickets at the entrance.
Cette boutique vend des produits régionaux.
This shop sells regional products.
2. Vendre quelque chose à quelqu'un — to sell something to someone
The buyer is marked with à. This is identical to English in the order of arguments, but the preposition is à (not pour, which would mean "in exchange for").
Il a vendu sa moto à son voisin.
He sold his motorbike to his neighbor.
Vous me vendez la dernière baguette ?
Could you sell me the last baguette?
When both objects are pronouns, the order is indirect before direct: je te le vends (I'll sell it to you), il me l'a vendu (he sold it to me).
Je te le vends pour vingt euros, qu'est-ce que t'en dis ?
I'll sell it to you for twenty euros, what do you say?
3. Vendre cher / pas cher — to sell at a high / low price
A fixed pattern: the price descriptor is treated adverbially, no agreement.
Ce tableau s'est vendu très cher aux enchères.
This painting sold for a very high price at auction.
Ils ne vendent vraiment pas cher dans ce magasin.
They really don't sell at high prices in this shop.
4. Se vendre — to sell (intransitive, passive sense)
Pronominal se vendre expresses a passive — the subject is the thing being sold, not the agent. This is the standard French way of saying sells well / sells a lot / is sold for X.
Ce roman se vend très bien depuis sa sortie.
This novel has been selling really well since it came out.
Les vins de cette région se vendent partout en Europe.
Wines from this region are sold all over Europe.
Le pain ne se vend plus à la pièce, mais au poids.
Bread isn't sold by the unit anymore, but by weight.
5. Figurative vendre — to give away, betray, sell out
Same verb, transferred meaning. Used both for selling out a person (treachery) and for "giving away" information.
Il a vendu ses complices pour avoir une remise de peine.
He gave up his accomplices in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Surtout, ne me vends pas, je veux lui faire la surprise.
Whatever you do, don't give me away — I want to surprise him.
6. À vendre — for sale (the sign in the window)
Fixed adverbial phrase, ubiquitous on real-estate listings, used cars, and shop windows.
Il y a une jolie petite maison à vendre dans la rue voisine.
There's a nice little house for sale on the next street.
Cette voiture n'est plus à vendre, elle est déjà réservée.
This car isn't for sale anymore — it's already reserved.
High-frequency idioms
- vendre la mèche — to let the cat out of the bag (literally: to sell the fuse)
- vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué — to count one's chickens before they hatch
- vendre son âme au diable — to sell one's soul to the devil
- à vendre ou à louer — for sale or for rent
- bien vendre son poisson — to talk something up convincingly (informal)
- se vendre comme des petits pains — to sell like hotcakes (literally: like little breadrolls)
Ne vends pas la mèche, c'est censé rester entre nous.
Don't let the cat out of the bag — it's supposed to stay between us.
Le nouveau jeu vidéo se vend comme des petits pains.
The new video game is selling like hotcakes.
N'allons pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.
Let's not count our chickens before they hatch.
The -re family — what vendre unlocks
Once you have vendre memorized, you have the entire regular -re family for free. They all share the same singular present (-s, -s, [silent stem]), plural present (-ons, -ez, -ent), past participle (-u), and follow the same imparfait, futur, conditionnel, and subjunctive patterns.
| Verb | Meaning | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| rendre | give back, return | rendu |
| perdre | lose | perdu |
| attendre | wait for | attendu |
| entendre | hear | entendu |
| répondre | answer | répondu |
| défendre | defend, forbid | défendu |
| descendre | go down, descend | descendu |
| tendre | stretch, hand over | tendu |
| fondre | melt | fondu |
| mordre | bite | mordu |
The two outliers in the broader -re family that you should NOT lump in here: prendre (and its compounds apprendre, comprendre) lose the -d in the plural and have an irregular participle pris; and mettre doubles the -t and has the irregular mis. Those need their own pages.
Related verbs
- revendre — to resell. Conjugates exactly like vendre. Especially common with secondhand goods. J'ai revendu mon vieux portable sur Leboncoin (I resold my old phone on Leboncoin).
- survendre — to oversell. Le produit a été survendu par la pub (the product was oversold by the advertising).
- mévendre — to sell at a loss / undersell. Rare and literary.
The noun: la vente
The corresponding noun is la vente (sale). Worth knowing alongside vendre: it pairs with l'achat (purchase) and surfaces in en vente (on sale, available for purchase), la vente aux enchères (auction sale), les soldes (the seasonal sales), and la vente à emporter (takeaway).
Le nouveau modèle est en vente depuis lundi.
The new model has been on sale since Monday.
Ils organisent une vente aux enchères au profit d'une association.
They're holding an auction in support of a charity.
Comparison with English
Three friction points for English speakers:
- The buyer is marked with à, not to. I sold the car to him is je lui ai vendu la voiture or j'ai vendu la voiture à lui-même (rare, emphatic). The everyday form is je lui ai vendu la voiture — pronoun preceding the verb. English speakers sometimes overuse pour (which means in exchange for).
- Pronominal passive is the default for "sells well / is sold." English collapses these constructions: the book sells well is intransitive, the book is sold is passive. French has a single elegant solution: se vendre. Ce livre se vend bien. Use this construction whenever no agent is mentioned.
- The futur and conditionnel keep both -d-s. Be careful not to drop letters: je vendrai, nous vendrions. The infinitive ends in -re, but only the final -e drops to form the stem.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Adding -s to the third-person singular.
❌ Il vends sa voiture.
Wrong — il / elle / on takes no -s; the -d alone is the third-person singular ending.
✅ Il vend sa voiture.
He's selling his car.
Mistake 2: Using à in vendre cher / vendre pas cher.
❌ Cette boutique vend à cher.
Wrong — *cher* is adverbial here, no preposition.
✅ Cette boutique vend cher.
This shop is expensive (literally: sells dear).
Mistake 3: Using pour instead of à for the buyer.
❌ J'ai vendu ma voiture pour mon frère.
Wrong — *pour mon frère* means 'on behalf of my brother' or 'as a favor.' The buyer is marked with *à*.
✅ J'ai vendu ma voiture à mon frère.
I sold my car to my brother.
Mistake 4: Using the morphological passive instead of pronominal passive.
❌ Ce roman est bien vendu en ce moment.
Awkward — this sounds translated; native French uses *se vendre* for general sales statements.
✅ Ce roman se vend bien en ce moment.
This novel is selling well at the moment.
Mistake 5: Forgetting agreement with a preceding direct object.
❌ Les voitures que j'ai vendu coûtaient cher.
Wrong — *avoir* + participle agrees with a preceding direct object: feminine plural *vendues*.
✅ Les voitures que j'ai vendues coûtaient cher.
The cars I sold were expensive.
Key takeaways
Vendre is the regular -re verb meaning to sell, and it is the model for the entire -dre subfamily (rendre, perdre, attendre, entendre, répondre, défendre, descendre). The stem vend- is invariant across the paradigm. The singular present is silent (je vends, tu vends, il vend all /vɑ̃/); the plural restores the /d/.
The compound tenses are formed with avoir: j'ai vendu. Past participle agreement follows the standard avoir rule — agree only with a preceding direct object (la voiture que j'ai vendue, but j'ai vendu la voiture).
The most useful constructions to internalize: vendre quelque chose à quelqu'un (sell X to Y), vendre cher / pas cher (sell at a high / low price, adverbial), and the pronominal passive se vendre (sells well, is sold) — the latter is the elegant native solution where English uses either an intransitive or a passive. The fixed expression à vendre (for sale) is an obligatory piece of vocabulary the moment you walk past a shop window.
Now practice French
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning French→Related Topics
- Perdre: Full Verb ReferenceA1 — Perdre is to lose — keys, time, money, weight, balance, hope, one's mind. It's a regular -re verb (vendre family) with a fully predictable conjugation. The reflexive se perdre is essential for 'get lost' in every sense (physically lost, lost in thought, lost in a conversation). This is the full reference: every paradigm, every compound tense, the core uses, and the rich body of idioms.
- Descendre: Full Verb ReferenceA2 — Descendre means to go down — and it's one of the canonical maison-d'être verbs. But the moment you give it a direct object (descendre les escaliers, descendre les valises), it switches to avoir. This page covers every paradigm, the all-important auxiliary switch, and the constellation of meanings from getting off a bus to checking into a hotel.
- The Three Conjugation Groups: -er, -ir, -reA1 — How French verbs sort into the 1er, 2e, and 3e groupes — and why one group has 90% of the verbs and another is everything that doesn't fit.
- Passé composé: avoir + irregular past participlesA1 — The high-frequency irregular past participles of French — eu, été, fait, dit, lu, vu, pris, mis — and how to drill them efficiently.
- Le Pronominal à Sens PassifB1 — French speakers prefer the pronominal passive — *ce livre se lit facilement*, *le vin rouge se boit avec la viande* — over the heavy *être + past participle* in many everyday contexts. It's the natural way to express norms, instructions, and how things are done.
- Préposition Manquante ou Mauvaise après VerbesA2 — The preposition you put after a French verb often differs from the English equivalent — sometimes adding one English doesn't have, sometimes dropping one English requires.